The simple navigation here frees up space nicely for the brilliant work to take centre stage. The juxtaposition between the pixel details and the colourfully varied portfolio of tight work functions splendidly.

WDDG score again with a heavily stylised and suitably retro redesign for Altoids. The brand gets perfect representation with off-the-wall content and irreverent features. The bizarre site offers things you didn't know you cared about but presented in a such a fun way it leaves you wanting to explore more.

How to convey the tone and pitch of human speech through typography? The problems of reading a book whilst lying on your back, and many more issues are discussed and solutions offered. A dry sense of humour runs through this unusual and thought provoking site.

From part of the ashes of the UK agency Deepend, rises De-construct. The site mandate here is the total deconstruction of the traditional user interface, breaking it down to it's most basic elements. Requiring a small leap of faith and an open mind the site's minimalism wins through and is with its uniqueness.

Beneath a cute vector-art exterior there lurks a darker side to Esao's craft. This collection of beautiful work is undeniably odd. Some feedback while sections load would be useful, but the wait is always worth it. As a bonus, 'Monkey Book' explores the human condition, or it's just a story about a stuffed monkey? We're not sure; it could go either way ...

We don't often award resource sites the status of favourite, so it gives all the more pleasure to do so now. You'll find many pay and shareware foundries here to browse or search through, but the real show-stealer is the font identifier. Upload a scan of some text and it'll try and name or match it for you - and it works too!

A portfolio without any pretense. Sparse on text and smooth in delivery - as a site, it's as simple and rewarding as they come. Shoots made up of striking and beautiful photo-sets are on offer here too.

A subtle interface harmonises with the work contained within to create a wonderfully reductive site. There are some unusual twists of Flash to be found here, from the simple navigation with its 'history' bar and threads, to the experimental action- script pieces themselves.

From the designer who brought us Superlooper comes this minimalist portfolio site. The tiny interface area is bound to irritate a few people, but bear with it and you'll find a varied array of multi-disciplinary work. As an extra bonus there's a set of free fonts available to download. You can never have enough free fonts!

When you can get away with not needing to explain yourself you're probably doing something special. Cina & Young's day-jobs are certainly more inspired than most people's. A whole lot of antithetical directness make this agency's model worth studying as much as the portfolio.

One of the most well known and longer-standing sites of its kind, Praystation quietly resurfaced with another update towards the end of 2001. A revamped interface and new content, wrapped around the large back catalogue of previous work, demands a revisit for the new year.